


Sweetly Subtle

by The_Winter_Writer



Series: MCU Kink Bingo [20]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Apples of Idunn, Baking, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Has Two Ridiculous Crushes, Bucky loves to bake, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Friendship/Love, Get Together, God Tony Stark, Kissing, Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, Loki has a sweet tooth, M/M, Married Loki/Tony Stark, Multi, Pining, Pining Bucky Barnes, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Threesome, Public Display of Affection, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark has a sweet tooth, Wooing, courting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-25 16:16:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15644370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Winter_Writer/pseuds/The_Winter_Writer
Summary: It was his own brand ofwooingand Bucky would really appreciate it if Natasha stopped teasing him about it. So what if he’d gone and accidentally fallen in love with the only married couple in the Tower? It was near impossiblenotto fall in love with Tony and Loki.





	Sweetly Subtle

**Author's Note:**

> We're going to continue on our fluffy, happy journey apparently. Initially when I saw this square my first thought was SMUT SMUT SMUT but then I was slammed with fluff and I had to follow this path. This is my first attempt at this particular threesome so I guess we'll see how it goes...
> 
>  
> 
>  **Square filled** : I1 - Bucky Barnes/Loki/Tony Stark

“You’re spoiling them.” Natasha observed from her place at the table. He had felt her eyes on his back for twenty minutes now and Bucky had been _waiting_ for her to say something. Bucky squatted down to look in the oven, taking in the rising bread and breathing in the spiced scent with a sigh. “This is also the weirdest way to _woo_ someone.” She paused, “Two someones. Two ridiculously intelligent, chaotic someones on Shield’s potential global threat watch list.”

He glanced back at Natasha and took in the quirked lips. She had been giving him a hard time ever since she’d realized he was subtly _wooing_ ‘double trouble’ as most of the residents had taken to calling Tony and Loki. They each had their own nicknames for the combination that was Loki and Tony.

The whole world had nicknames for them from the moment they had realized that a Norse God had landed the famous Tony Stark.

“They’re hard at work and making them something to eat is the least I could do.” Bucky offered casually. He didn’t bother acknowledging Natasha’s wooing comment or the Shield watch list mention. This was his business. Well his and a ridiculously intelligent, clever and chaotic duo who were far too attractive for it to be legal. It shouldn’t have been a surprise that he’d gone and somehow fallen in love with both of them. “Besides it’s a nice way to repay them for helping me.”

By helping him he clearly meant the creation of his new arm and the removal of the lingering effects of Hydra from his mind. That excuse should have been a good enough reason to get Natasha _off his back_. It wasn’t.

It never was and at this point he’d probably used it too often to have any kind of effect.

She snorted, “I’m sure that’s all it is.” Natasha cast her eyes over towards the counter where Bucky _might_ have gone a little over the top today. In his defense it _was_ that time of the year when baking seemed to pick up and they needed to replenish their energy. All kinds of breads, pies, cookies and other autumn favorites that made the Tower smell like a bakery had been filling the Tower for weeks now. Natasha had no business giving him any kind of additional grief about his silent, subtle attempts to lure his favorite pair into giving him a second look.

Or, if Bucky couldn’t keep them permanently, then he was hoping for at least a night or two in their bed. That might help him or it might make it harder in the long run. He was absolutely willing to roll the dice.

Bucky ignored the look she gave him, knowing and amused, to give her a completely unimpressed look. It only had laughter filling her eyes. He huffed and turned back to check his progress.

He didn’t _just_ bake sweets. There was plenty here that they could take up to their floor, fill their fridge or the small kitchen down in their combined workshop so they would have _something_ to eat when they remembered to surface from a recent experiment or creative binge. He knew there was a similar set up in Bruce’s lab.

The sweets were because Bucky had learned that both of them had a sweet tooth and a weakness for baked goods. It was endearing no matter what anyone else said.

Besides he _wanted_ to spoil them and Bucky had no intention of stopping. Even if they didn’t return his interest he had still grown rather close to them and he liked the way they seemed to relish every single bite of the food he’d made for them. There was nothing wrong with cooking and baking for friends.

Nothing dammit.

“You’re lucky that Loki already fed Tony one of those Apples or Tony would be at risk of getting diabetes.” She furrowed her brow, “I’m not sure if he’s above going into a sugar coma. This is the first time you’ve been around for the holiday season and I’ve never seen so many baked goods in my life.”

Tony had _yet_ to slip into any kind of sugar coma and it wasn’t for a lack of trying. It wouldn’t matter either way. He knew that Loki would either fix it with magic or take a trip up to Asgard to grab another Apple to fix him right up. Either way there was little to worry about in that regard.

“Jarvis?”

“Yes, Sergeant Barnes?” he would never get over the fact that Tony had created an actual Artificial Intelligence. Jarvis was a marvel. It was a small wonder that he’d ended up falling in love with the snarky genius. The fact that Loki was of a similar nature, the wonders his magic could create, wasn’t a shock either.

Bucky was a sucker for a bright, brilliant mind and a pretty face. Two of them was nothing short of heavenly.

“Tony and Loki?”

The timer started beeping loudly after his question. Bucky turned it off, grabbed a mitt and pulled the pans out to cool. “They are still experimenting with integrating the metal Loki brought back from Nidavellir into the newest iteration of Sir’s armor.” There was a pause, “They have managed to contain themselves to only one minor explosion and two fires. Dum-E has been on fire duty.”

One minor explosion was a pretty mild day. The two of them had managed to level an entire warehouse experimenting on a magical artifact only a month ago. It had been empty save for the two of them and Loki’s magic had quickly wrapped around both of them the second it had gone unstable since Tony was still learning how to handle the magic Idunn’s Apple have woken in him.

It hadn’t been a surprise when he’d heard that upon receiving his godhood Tony had become the God of Creation, Innovation and Chaos. No one had been surprised and Loki had been _gleeful_ at another Chaos God. Tony had _hoped_ to be the God of Sex but the Norns had already given him his titles and Loki had soothed him by pointing out the rarity of him receiving any titles.

Bucky had been the one who had ushered them out of the Shield meeting room where Fury had been attempting to reprimand them for unsafe experimenting and threatening to lock the two of them up for ‘the good of the entire fucking universe and my fucking health’. He had decided to withhold the strawberry cake he’d baked that day and fed it to Steve in front of them.

It was passive aggressive, far from his usual course of action, but he had needed to do something because he’d been fucking terrified and hiding it. They hadn’t taken it too well.

The sad thing was that last month wasn’t even the biggest explosion the two of them had caused. That one had been off world and before Bucky had started getting to know them on a more personal level. He probably would have had a heart attack if he’d been attached to them during _that_. Thor, of course, _loved_ retelling that story and talking about how the flames had lit the Alfheim sky for a week while one or both of them would chime in with more details.

“Can you let them know I tried a new recipe?”

That’s really all Jarvis would have to say at this point. Nothing else seemed capable of tempting them away from an experiment or creation like his baking. Bucky prided himself on that fact. No one had figured out how to tempt Bruce away from his own experiments but Bucky figured everyone else in the Tower could focus on that one.

Natasha leaned forward, “Are _we_ going to get any of that?” she asked with a soft, cajoling kind of tone as though that would change his mind either way. She didn’t have Tony’s big brown eyes or Loki’s bright green to tempt him into changing his mind. It was more than obvious by her tone that she was a step away from snagging something and eating it without an ounce of guilt.

The whole Tower, minus the two he was trying to woo, acted in the same way. Clint had even propositioned him if only for the chance to get a steady supply of baked goods. He had propositioned Bucky for _weeks_ in front of anyone and everyone in hopes of lucking into constant baked treats.

He didn’t get a chance to answer because the flash of green magic caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Loki had appeared in the middle of the kitchen, arm curled around Tony’s waist. Tony’s clothing had a few burn marks, oil and a hint of foam on the leg of his pants. Loki was less than pristine, very much in a similar state, but clearly ignoring that fact in favor of zeroing in on the baked goods on the counter.

Amused affection filled him with warmth and the temptation to just drag them both in for a hungry, possessive kiss had to be forced down.

“Fuck.” Tony breathed out as he took in a breath, sighing with happiness. “Have I told you how much I fucking adore you? Because I do. I really, really do.” His eyes locked on the banana bread, moved to the cookies and over the less sweet options with a familiar kind of excitement that had Bucky grinning in satisfaction.

He could see the same thing in Loki’s eyes.

Tony took a few steps forward, towards the food, before Bucky stepped in and pointed at the both of them with a spatula. “You’re both _filthy_.” He ignored the pout Tony leveled him with, eyes wide and making an attempt at innocence, but he held strong even if the temptation to give in was overwhelming.

“ _Snowflake_.” Tony’s voice came in a soft, pleading whine. Loki merely rolled his eyes, the fondness clear as day, as he twisted his fingers and magic effortlessly cleaned the two of them. “Thanks, Lo.” He flashed a bright, delighted smile up at Loki, before fixing his attention once more on the food they had been called up for. “What do you have for us today, Winter Smolder?”

He started to take a step forward; all it took was Bucky pointing his spatula at the table and both of them turned in that direction. In seconds Tony had zipped over to the nearest chair while Loki moved at a calmer, more dignified pace. Once he’d settled next to Tony the pair of them watched him avidly.

Bucky knew they’d been up all night working in the workshop and most of the morning. Considering how much both of them ate, only a little less than Thor, he knew at this point they were probably starving.

By now Bucky had learned exactly how they both got after getting lost in a project for hours and hours, focus fixed only on the task and possibilities at hand, while sometimes completely forgetting to come up for air and to eat something more substantial than smoothies or fruit. It wasn’t often but there were times their minds fixed on something and nothing else. He _knew_ they could take care of themselves but that didn’t mean that Bucky didn’t like the opportunity it presented him with to take care of them in his own way.

There wasn’t going to be much of anything left except for the food he’d already delivered to their floor.

Bucky carefully placed each dish on the table under the hungry stares of those filling the kitchen. Natasha inched closer, Clint was staring enviously and Thor, who had followed him into the kitchen when Bucky hadn’t been looking, watched the table with a combination of hunger and fondness.

“I tried a few new recipes today.” He commented idly as they started on the treats instead of the savory options he had also included. The rolls he was going to be putting into the oven shortly would disappear next. He turned to check the oven temperature before putting in the pans of dough.

The banana bread was the first victim to fall under their attentions. Loki began cutting it up deftly, disappearing his knife when he was finished, while Tony turned to look over the cookies.

Ever since Loki had given Tony a Golden Apple the adorable genius had gleefully started fully enjoying sweets when, prior to his godly upgrade, Tony had tried to monitor his health a bit more than he had in his early years.

That had been flung out the window the second Loki had explained all of the perks of his new and improved existence.

Everyone had watched in amusement as Tony had immediately turned to indulging in whatever food whim struck him at the time with the same kind of fervor that Thor showed towards…basically everything.

Loki and Tony happily overindulged whenever it was possible and Bucky had been more than happy to improve his culinary skills while cooking and baking for his favorite trouble makers. Steve was the only other one to truly find himself on the receiving end of Bucky’s cooking unless it was a night when Bucky was cooking for the Avengers or Thor had snuck into the kitchen to stare longingly at the spread Bucky had laid out.

It was the sound of moaning that had Bucky grinning with delight as Tony took a bite of the banana bread, eyes rolling with pleasure and making Bucky wonder if that’s what Tony sounded like when Loki was fucking him through their mattress or wherever the God of Mischief fancied.

Next to him Loki was clearly savoring a bite of one of the sugar cookies shaped like a little pumpkin, sighing in pleasure and moving on for a second bite. The occasional sound he released was just as indecent.

“I never thought I would see another in all of the Nine who had a sweet tooth to rival my brother’s.” Thor sounded slightly awed as he watched his brother and brother-in-law contentedly trying everything Bucky had laid out on the table for them. “Loki often had to travel to Vanaheim or Alfheim to find sweets. Asgard very rarely ever offers them.”

“Asgard sounds like a nightmare when you say things like that, Sparky. No sweets?” Tony turned to look at Loki, “I’m so sorry, Lo. That is absolutely horrible. We’ll have to pack some into your pocket dimension when we visit your Mom. There’s no point suffering when we can avoid it.”

Loki shrugged it off, “It encouraged me to find pathways from Asgard to the other Realms. Heimdall would hardly let me use the Bifrost whenever I wanted to sate a craving.” Loki waved his hand and two glasses appeared on the table.

“They do say that necessity is the mother of invention.” Tony reached for a cookie, bit into it and sighed in happiness. “Snowdrift…I think you might secretly be the God of Baking. Your food is divine and clearly the work of some kind of godly power.” He turned to Loki, “Is there a God of Baking? If not…I have a suggestion.”

Bucky felt a ridiculously pleased smile stretching his lips as warmth swelled in his chest at Tony’s words. He really fucking loved the two of them.

Loki glanced over at him and Bucky could see amusement in his gaze. “Have you been keeping secrets, James?” he arched a brow, “You should know we _always_ figure them out.” The tone was teasing, light and something a very few people received from Loki. He certainly hadn’t heard it directed at anyone save for Tony.

Tony gave his husband a found look. Clint pretended to gag and Natasha smacked him upside the head. Within seconds she found herself rewarded with a cookie that Loki floated towards her with magic.

“Awww cookie no.” that was a spectacular pout and Bucky was _almost_ tempted to give Clint a cookie but it wasn’t Tony’s pout and it didn’t move him enough to take a cookie from the objects of his affections.

Loki merely gave Clint an unimpressed glance, “If _someone_ was capable of controlling themselves then maybe that same someone would be enjoying one of these _divine_ treats.” the barely there smirk had Bucky biting back a laugh.

Tony snorted, reached for a different cookie and held it out towards Loki. “Try this, God of Sass. It’s pumpkin.” Loki didn’t even bother reaching for it. He leaned forward and took a bite directly from Tony’s hand, a pleased sound escaping around a mouthful of cookie. “Right? It’s _sinful_.”

Bucky grinned at them, pleased and content, as the two he wanted for himself ate the fruits of his labors with obvious enjoyment and delight.

He could see Natasha moving closer, eyes fixed on the banana bread and Clint had decided to come at them from another angle after seeing Natasha enjoy a cookie. Thor noticed them moving into position a second after Bucky did, “Not wise, my friends.” His voice was low but Bucky could see the way Loki’s head tilted just so and he knew the God of Mischief was listening. “No one comes between Loki and sweets unless they do not value their own lives.”

Tony perked up at that, “Story time?” he really loved stories about Loki’s mischief far too much. It clearly gave him ideas and those were ideas he didn’t need for his already far too creative mind. Shield hadn’t brought all of them, minus Tony and Loki, in for a meeting on contingency plans on the off chance double trouble _somehow_ went the route of supervillains together for no reason. They were classified as a potential global threat and Bucky didn’t doubt that Tony already knew something about it even if every copy of those plans were only found on paper. It seemed extreme but Shield could be paranoid and Tony could get into any database given the motivation.

Loki and Tony together were chaotic, mischievous and clever enough as it was without the help of outside sources or inspiration.

He really hadn’t stood a chance when he had stumbled into their lives. It didn’t help that they were far too loveable and Bucky just wanted to protect both of them with every last ounce of experience he’d gained over the decades from being the Winter Soldier. He didn’t care that they were both, at least one of them with the help of an Apple, gods because he _knew_ they were both broken in their own ways.

It was fortunate that he had gained experience by taking care of a stubborn, little shit from Steve’s earlier years because those skills came in handy when interacting with them. They were similar but dialed up to a hundred.

“…Volstagg hasn’t so much as looked at a sweet anywhere near Loki’s vicinity since.” Bucky must have missed something. Tony was howling with laughter and Loki was grinning with smug, pleased satisfaction.

A glance behind them revealed Clint with a look of horror on his face. He had taken ten steps away from Loki. Looking over at Natasha revealed that she’d angled herself so she was closer to Tony’s side of the table instead of Loki’s. Steve had a similar look on his face to Clint’s.

He’d have to ask them later.

“That was better than the cross-dressing story!” Tony leaned against Loki, still laughing. His eyes were filled with mirth. “Fuck, Lo. I love your mind.”

It earned him a pleased kiss from the god whose hand curled around Tony and held him in place as Loki showed his appreciation very thoroughly. Bucky shifted on his feet, felt his mouth go dry and knew he was staring at the two of them.

They were gorgeous together.

“Get a room.” Clint finally called out, clearly recovered and sounding absolutely disgusted.

Tony pulled away from Loki, lips kiss swollen and cheeks flushed, to look over at the archer. “I have a whole Tower, [Merida](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1217209/characters/nm0531808?ref_=tt_cl_t1).” He flipped Clint off and dragged Loki back in for a filthy kiss, moaning against the God of Mischief, before finally pulling back with a satisfied look on his face.

Loki looked equally pleased and mussed from Tony’s fingers.

It wasn’t until the timer went off that everyone stopped staring to glance over towards the oven. Bucky turned away from them, reluctantly, to pull the rolls out and set them out to cool. He knew they loved putting butter or honey on them when they were still hot. Judging by the eyes watching Loki and Tony he figured it was probably time to shove lunch into the oven.

Over an hour later the table was unsurprisingly empty after the two gods he’d baked for had cleared it off. It was more than obvious they were both content and pleased. He wouldn’t be surprised if that energy was burned off upstairs all over the penthouse. Bucky shifted on his seat and tried to think less arousing thoughts as he focused on the conversations filling the kitchen.

Once he had set out the food he’d prepared for lunch the kitchen had turned towards soft conversation and the attempts on the baked goods had lessened. It was a relaxing way to spend his time in a life that was otherwise hectic and constantly in motion. The exact kind of thing his therapist had told him was good for his recovery.

Bucky glanced over at Tony and Loki only to see their heads close together as they talked. Normally he could have easily heard their conversation, super soldier hearing had its perks, but Loki must have tossed up a spell because he couldn’t hear a word.

As he watched from the corner of his eye Tony absently worried his lower lip while Loki spoke, their eyes flicked towards him and away again.

Bucky wondered what they were talking about. He would give just about anything to be able to hear past that spell but Loki’s magic was, according to everyone who knew magic, some of the strongest in all of the Nine if not the strongest.

He turned back to listen to Steve, caught him telling another story from the forties, before he felt the weight of eyes staring at him again. Considering the direction the feeling was coming from it could only come from one or two people.

Seconds later the conversation around the table seemed to taper off, eyes looking beyond him, as Bucky furrowed his brow and turned to see what they were staring at.

Tony and Loki.

He watched Tony’s lips quirk as he took a few steps forward, reached up and pressed their lips together. It was soft, sweet and stole Bucky’s breath. He was pretty sure his heart had stopped at the touch of Tony’s lips against his own. His hands itched to cup the back of Tony’s head, to drag him closer but Bucky refrained.

The kiss broke a moment later but Bucky didn’t get a chance to ask _why_ Tony had done that because Loki was claiming his lips next. He could feel the way Loki’s magic practically wrapped around him as the god kissed him, fingers lightly gripping his chin in a kiss that was a touch or two more than soft and sweet.

His head _spun_.

“Holy shit.” That was Clint. Two seconds later the sound of a smack, _Natasha_ he idly thought, sounded and a soft _Ow_ accompanied it.

Loki pulled back, a small and pleased smirk on his face.

“Lo thought you might be… _courting_ us.” Tony admitted in a surprisingly soft voice. “We talked about it and, if you are in fact courting us, we _are_ interested, Snowflake. That is…if you really want both of us? We’re kind of a package deal.”

Despite the lack of hesitation in the kiss, the clear feeling that Bucky had picked up on, he could see the hesitation in Tony that they thought they might have misread his intentions. They hadn’t. They really, really hadn’t.

He was off the chair, stepping right back into Tony’s space and pulling him in for a hungry kiss that had Tony gasping against him. Bucky could feel fingers curling in the front of his shirt as he kissed Tony breathless, pulled away and showed Loki just how right the god had been with a kiss just as heated.

“About fucking time.” That was Natasha. Bucky decided to pull a Tony and flipped her off as he pulled away from the God of Mischief’s lips.

“Really…can you get a room now? For all of our sakes. Please get a room.”

As though deciding on granting Clint mercy magic coiled around him and Bucky found himself in the penthouse a second later. “We didn’t do that to put you on the spot…just so you know.” Tony started, “We just wanted to make sure you knew we didn’t want a ‘dirty little secret’. This isn’t about sex or playing around.” He paused, “And we didn’t want to wait another second. We’ve been talking about it for a few weeks now.”

“If all you are hoping for is sex we wouldn’t turn you away from our bed but Anthony and I would like to see if you could be a part of our relationship.”

Tony grinned, “We’ve both been kind of nursing crushes on you and last night we decided to say something today.”

“Gods don’t _nurse crushes_ , Anthony.” Loki put on an affected tone, sniffing haughtily in a way that had Tony laughing and was clearly in good fun. “Gods admire and acquire that which we want to possess. What do you think happened with you?”

“Doesn’t he say the sweetest things?” Tony’s tone was full of nothing but love and affection. “You should hear him in the bedroom. Especially when he gets that _kneel before me_ growl in his voice.” The dilation of Tony’s pupils and the slight flushing to his cheeks said a great deal about _that_.

Bucky could feel his body warming with interest at that.

“You are _always_ begging for it before I even start, Anthony.” Loki’s expression was wicked and pleased. Green eyes flicked over to him. “If we have read your intentions wrong please let us know. It will have no impact on the friendship we’ve cultivated and if you are only interested in sex we’re more than happy to invite you into our bed as a temporary third.”

That was a relief.

“You didn’t read my intentions wrong.”  His tongue darted out and swiped over his lips as the image of actually getting to _be_ with them flashed vividly through his mind.

Tony brightened and Loki visibly relaxed.

“Great!” Tony was grinning, “Since you’ve been spoiling us rotten for _months_ I think it’s our turn to return the favor.”

He looked between the two of them, the pair nicknamed double trouble and the pair ranked number one on Shield’s potential global threat watch list, all the while feeling that same warm and fond feeling blooming in his chest. It was light, happy and freeing in a way he hadn’t felt in decades.

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly I had thoughts that within the hour they're all naked, on FrostIron's huge bed and testing their compatibility in a very physical way with very satisfying results for all. I know. I'm a very, very horrible person but I didn't like the abrupt way that would have come off with this particular fic so you all received pure fluff instead. I did have problems resisting giving little hints of the absolute chaos that Tony and Loki get into daily.
> 
> I might, _might_ , write a WinterFrostIron smut fic follow up to this but first I want to finish some of these other ideas/fics up and post them. Actually I'm pretty damn sure there is WinterFrostIron smut in the future I'm just not committing to a time frame.
> 
> I'm hopeful that you all enjoyed this fluffy and light fic. Please comment and let me know what you thought!
> 
>  
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://the-winter-writer.tumblr.com)


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